


If You Give a Max a Muffin

by SkyPiglet



Series: 100% AmberField Fluff [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), Life Is Strange Before the Storm
Genre: F/F, Femslash, Fluff, Partial Sickfic, Sickfic, Sugary sweet, amberfield, pure Amberfield, sugary sweet fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:40:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29321034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyPiglet/pseuds/SkyPiglet
Summary: Rachel has an extra muffin she doesn't want, and the new girl just walked into class...A sugary sweet, extra fluffy oneshot with my favorite rarepair.
Relationships: Rachel Amber/Maxine "Max" Caulfield
Series: 100% AmberField Fluff [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161197
Comments: 24
Kudos: 64





	If You Give a Max a Muffin

**Author's Note:**

> Don't get me wrong, I love AmberField fics where Rachel is confident and in charge, and Max is the shy awkward one. But I wanted something a little different. So both of them are useless gays here, but Rachel especially.

_♫ Aspidistrafly – Homeward Waltz_ _♫_

* * *

It all starts with a muffin.

Like every morning, Rachel drops by Arcadia Coffee and Tea before class for her usual: a frozen mocha, no whip and no drizzle, plus a muffin. The same boy always works the counter, some college hipster who, from how he stumbles over his words, definitely has a crush on her. Rachel just plays along, nodding and laughing at his dumb jokes. She doesn’t mind the attention. It’s flattering, even. And with a flash of her trademark smile, she grabs the paper bag from the barista, and heads out the door.

Only when she sits down for her first class, Photography, and opens the bag, does she discover the mistake: two pumpkin muffins, when she only ordered one.

Rachel doesn’t worry about her figure; in fact, all her schoolwork, plus club and volunteer activities, keep her so busy that she often forgets to slow down and eat. But it makes her stomach ache even thinking about a second muffin on top of her giant, sugary mocha. Still, she hates wasting food.

That’s when the new girl walks in: a little hipster in a pink “Jane Doe” shirt, with mousy brown hair, sun-kissed freckles dotting her cheeks, and the bluest, Bette Davis eyes— the kind all the boys die for. She glows, in a quiet way. It’s only a week into the semester, but the girl’s such a wallflower, always hiding in the back, that Rachel barely knows her. 

“Hi there!” Rachel says. The new girl keeps walking, too intent on reaching her favorite hiding place, to even notice.

 _What was her name again?_ “Maxine, right?”

She stops in her tracks and turns around.

“Max,” she replies, “never Maxine.”

“Oh shit, sorry,” Rachel says, smiling. “Max. It’s nice to meet you! I’m Rachel.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

An awkward silence settles between them for a moment, as it becomes clear that the girl really, really hates talking to strangers. Rachel’s met people like this before— the shy ones, the grumpy ones who shut themselves away in their shell. But instead of scaring her away, she sees it more as a challenge. And besides, the poor girl looks like she could eat more, she’s all skin and bones.

“So, Max…the barista at Arcadia Coffee and Tea gave me an extra muffin by mistake. Want it?”

Max’s eyes widen, like she expected to hear the exact opposite. _Does she think I’m going to go all Victoria Chase on her?_

“Really?”

“Yeah! Do you like pumpkin?”

Max’s lips curl into a smile, her baby cheeks squishing. “I love pumpkin _everything_. Thank you.”

For a second their eyes meet, and Rachel finds herself staring into two deep, baby blue pools. Something stirs in her chest, a feeling she doesn’t recognize.

Then the bell rings, and the moment ends, as Max scurries away to her desk.

* * *

The next morning, Rachel stops by the café again for her usual. But when she grabs the bag from the barista, something stops her. She opens the bag up, and looks inside: one pumpkin muffin.

“Hey,” the barista asks, “is something wrong?”

“No,” she stutters out, “I, um…”

She remembers that soft smile from the day before, those pepper freckles, and those eyes to die for. She finds herself smiling just thinking about her. _That kind of smile_ , she thinks, _is one that the world deserves more of_. And every pretty girl deserves a muffin, especially the ones who hide away like they aren’t.

"Actually,” she says, “could I get another muffin?”

* * *

Rachel’s so excited that by the time she gets to Photography class and sets all her things down, she’s barely touched her mocha. She opens the bag up and sets the two muffins by the edge of her desk, waiting. She has to fend off Nathan, who tries to swipe one (“aww, for me?”), but like a greedy dragon, she protects her treasure.

Then Max walks through the door. As she nears, she spots the two muffins on the desk, raising one skeptical eyebrow. Rachel smiles.

“Hey Max!”

“Hi Rachel.”

“Want a muffin?”

“Yeah,” Max replies, “but what’s the catch?”

“No catch, I just thought you deserved another muffin.”

"I don’t know…people don’t usually give things away for free.”

"Hmm”, Rachel ponders for a moment. “Okay then— if it helps you feel better, let’s play a game.”

"What kind of game?”

"How about…every time I get you a muffin, you answer a question for me?”

Max smirks a little, and that smile, too, makes Rachel’s chest flutter in a different way. “…alright. That seems like a fair exchange rate: one question for one muffin.”

"Great! So, your first question: Why photography?”

In an instant, Max lights up, and the shyness that shrouds her usual expression gives way to excitement. “Oh my dog, are you sure? I could talk about photography for hours.”

Rachel giggles at the use of _dog_ instead of _god_. “Um, do you see where we are? Please, do tell.”

By the time class starts, her frozen mocha has melted into a milkshake.

* * *

The weeks pass, and every day, Rachel brings Max a muffin. And every day, she asks her a question.

Sometimes, Max only offers a short answer before saying “thank you” and heading to her desk.

“What’s your last name, Max?”

“Caulfield.”

“Isn’t that from a book or something?”

“Nah. I get that a lot, though. Thanks for the muffin, Rachel!”

* * *

“How do I know,” Max says, “that you’re not slowly poisoning me?”

“You wound me, Max!” Rachel feigns a dramatic death, collapsing onto her desk. “After all that we’ve been through!”

“Alright, alright,” Max rolls her eyes. “What’s today’s question?”

“I have a juicy one for you: boys or girls?”

“In what way?”

“In every way.”

“Girls. Definitely girls.”

“Boys are so gross.”

“Eww!” Max giggles. “Agreed. Thanks for the muffin, Rachel.”

* * *

Other times, it becomes a full-blown conversation, and before they know it, the bell rings.

“Why ‘Max’, and not ‘Maxine’?”

“I don’t know, ‘Maxine’ feels like… an old lady’s name, you know?”

“But it’s so pretty! _Maxine_ , like the latin name a scientist makes up for an obscure flower.”

Max blushes. “What about you? Do you like ‘Rachel’?”

“Mhmm. I think it’s soft, like walking through forest undergrowth, with the sun shining through the trees.”

“Are you sure you belong here, and not in the poetry class?”

“You’re sweet. I do journal a little…maybe I’ll write you a poem someday?” 

“Can it be about muffins?”

“Of course.”

* * *

“If you could have a superpower, Max, what would it be?”

“That’s a good one. I’d want to talk to animals.”

“Ooh, what would you ask them?”

“Everything! What grass tastes like, can they talk to other animals, what do humans smell like, where are your favorite hangout spots…”

“You’ve really thought this one through, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess I have! What about you?”

“Invisibility would be nice.”

“So you can spy on all the cute girls?”

“W-what? No, nothing like that,” Rachel looks away, blushing. “I’d just like to watch the world in peace sometime, without some random dude or a Vortex Club member bothering me.”

“Must be hard, being so pretty.”

Rachel stares out the window, certain that the entire room can feel the heat radiating from her body. “…you really think I’m pretty?”

"I. Um….”

The bell rings, and Max shuffles away in a hurry. “Thanks for the muffin, Rachel!”

* * *

One day, Rachel walks into class, and Max is already there…sitting at Rachel’s desk.

“Max?”

“Hi, Rachel,” Max smirks, with that mischievious energy that makes Rachel’s stomach all fuzzy.

“Why are you sitting in my spot?”

Max opens up her messenger bag, digs through another bag inside, and pulls out a muffin. Rachel recognizes the fruity, nutty smell immediately.

“Banana walnut?? How did you—”

“—I did some snooping. And by ‘snooping’, I mean, Chloe said it was your favorite.”

“Max…thank you. But why?”

“Because! It’s our one month anniversary.”

“W-what??” Rachel sputters out. “Our anniversary?”

“Mhmm. It’s been a month since you first gave me a muffin. I guess you could call it our…muffinversary.”

“Oh my god,” Rachel laughs, “you are such a dork.”

Max grins, her eyes glittering, and Rachel thinks she might be dreaming.

“So, um.”

“Oh! Sorry, I got distracted…” _by how beautiful you are_ , she wants to say.

“Since I gave you a muffin this time, can I ask you something?”

“Of course! It’s only fair.”

“Do you. Um. Wanna get lunch with me tomorrow?”

“I’d love to, Max.”

“Great! I’ll see you tomorrow then, around one?” She gets up from Rachel’s seat, heading for her desk in the back.

“Okay! And Max?”

“Yeah?”

"Thanks for the muffin.”

* * *

That night, Rachel gets a message from Chloe.

Chloe: hey rach, max is rly sick  
Chloe: can’t visit til later cuz of work  
Chloe: u kno how 2 whales gets on the weekend  
Chloe: could u take care of her? i’ll drop by after my shift  
Rachel: oh no!! don’t worry. she’s in good hands  
Rachel: i’ll make sure she’s okay  
Chloe: thx rach, you’re a lifesaver  
Rachel: anytime!  
Chloe: and rach?  
Rachel: yeah chlo?  
Chloe: don’t forget to breathe in between all ur smooching  
Rachel: oh my goddddd chloe stop >:(  
Chloe: NO EMOJI

It’s already past curfew at the dorms, so Rachel settles for visiting in the morning.

* * *

Standing outside of Max’s room, Rachel notices that someone, probably Victoria, has scribbled “selfie slut” on the whiteboard. She erases it and draws a muffin monster instead, giving it little fangs, beady eyes, and mean eyebrows. Then, to finish it off, she writes, _rawr, I will devour u!_ underneath. Once she finishes, she knocks softly.

From behind the door, Rachel hears a sleepy groan, and a minute later, out comes the fluffiest blue-eyed angel she’s ever seen.

“Uhnn…Rachel?” Max says, her eyes half closed.

“Hey Max! Chloe said you caught something, and she’s tied up at the Two Whales, so it looks like I’ll be your nurse today.”

“You don’t have to—”

“Nonsense! Chloe said you need some TLC, and her word is final.”

Max sighs, resigned to her fate. “Okay, okay. Come on in.”

As soon as they’re inside, Max plops back into bed, pulling the covers over her head. Rachel sets her bags down on the couch, and gets to work.“The first thing we should do,” she says, “is take your temperature.” She sits down beside Max, thermometer in hand. “Open up?”

Max peeks her head out. “Do we have to?”

"Yup! Doctor’s orders.”

“I thought you said you were a nurse.”

“Doctor, nurse, you know what I mean.”

Max rolls her eyes, but opens her mouth. Leaning over her, Rachel can’t help but stare into those little oceans. Max’s hair falls across the pillow, splayed out like a quiet flame spreading in every direction. Rachel’s never been this close to Max, and under the fairy lights, every freckle shines like a star on the constellation that is her face. Max’s lips look so, so tender that Rachel can’t help but bite her own.

“Um, Rachel?”

“Yeah, Max?” her voice a whisper.

“I think you need to put it in.”

She blinks, sweating. “Wh— what?”

“The thermometer. I think you need to put it in. You know, to take my temperature.”

“Oh shit, sorry!” She slides it under Max’s squishy pink tongue and looks away, hoping that the warm light disguises her burning face.

Rachel tries to distract herself by studying Max’s room: it’s exactly how she imagined it, from the acoustic guitar to the posters for books to the dorky graphic tees hanging in the closet. And there’s the wall of polaroids by the bed, of course. It all screams _Max_ , so unassuming and thoughful, so simple but deep. Rachel spends every waking moment putting on a show, trying to be whatever people want her to be, but Max _just is_. She envies that quiet existence— of being yourself, one hundred percent, all the time.

The thermometer beeps, and Rachel retrieves it from Max’s mouth.

“Damn, Max. 101.8. You’re definitely staying in bed.”

“Sounds good to me,” Max sniffles, her voice a little hoarse.

“Hey, are you hungry?”

“Kind of, yeah.”

Rachel snags one of her bags from the couch, then returns to the bed, pulling out a tupperware container.

“I know you like your AC&T muffins, but a sick girl deserves more than just store-bought. So I made my own! Pumpkin with white chocolate chip, how you always like them, but now they’re bite-sized. I thought maybe we could take turns with the questions this time.”

“Rachel,” Max sits up, leaning against the wall, “you didn’t have to do all this for me.”

“I didn’t, but I wanted to.”

“Sorry I got sick. I hate that we’re going to miss our da— lunch together.”

“It’s okay! I’m just happy to be here with you.”

Max’s smile falters for a second, her eyes wet. _Did I do something wrong?_ Rachel worries, as Max looks away. From this angle, Rachel spots a bit of dried blood stuck on the girl’s nose. _Nosebleeds? Poor thing,_ she thinks to herself, _she must really be sick._

After an awkard silence, Max decides to open the container, popping one of the muffins in her mouth. She chews it with all the intentional slowness of a grazing deer, closing her eyes as if she wants to remember every note in a song.

When Rachel can’t stand the suspense anymore, she chimes in.

“So? How is it?”

“Ish goohd,” Max says with a happy mouthful, “Weally, weally goohd.”

Rachel sighs, releasing the breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Oh, thank fuck. I stayed up all night watching baking videos and trying to get it right. The first…couple of batches either melted into moon rocks, or exploded all over the pan. I had to make my dad take me to the store at midnight for more nutmeg and chocolate chips.”

“You did a really good job. I mean…wowser, these are yummy.”

Rachel giggles. “You’re such a dork, Max.”

Max leans her head on Rachel’s shoulder, her hair tickling the side of Rachel’s neck. Rachel notices the faint scent of apple blossoms, like Fall, filling her nose. It’s so _her_. She thinks she might have died and gone to heaven, and when Max’s hand slips into hers, their fingers intertwining, she knows it’s true.

“Ask me a question?” Max says.

Rachel can barely hear Max through the thumping in her ears. “Oh! I guess it is my turn. Okay…how old is that guitar?”

“My dad gave me it when I was thirteen, right after we left for Seattle. I think he felt bad about tearing me away from Chloe, so he tried making it up to me.” Rachel squeezes Max’s hand, and Max squeezes back.

“At first I hated it,” she continues. “It felt like he was trying to bribe my feelings away. So I shoved it into my closet, and didn’t touch it for the longest time…but one day, I decided to give it a try. I’m not very good, but it’s nice when I want to keep myself company.”

“Play a song for me someday?”

“Hey, that’s a second question! But yes.” Max pops a muffin in Rachel’s mouth. “My turn?”

“Mhmm!” Rachel replies through a mouthful.

“Okay. Why did you give me that muffin the first day?”

“The barista gave me an extra. I think he was trying to hit on me, but I wasn’t interested, and all muffins deserve a good home.”

“But what’s the _real_ reason?” Max prods, looking right at her.

“I noticed you in class, and you looked so lonely. I thought, ‘I already know everyone else here. Might as well get to know the new girl.’”

Max squeezes Rachel’s hand. “I’m really glad you did.”

With her free hand, Rachel hands Max another muffin.

“What did you think of me when we first met?”

“To be honest, I barely looked, I was so anxious. I knew you were one of the popular girls at Blackwell, and I thought you were playing some kind of mean prank. But then you were so nice to me…it was all I thought about the rest of the day.”

Rachel slips another muffin into Max’s hand.

“Hey, it’s my turn to ask, not yours!”

“Too late, you’ve already accepted the muffin.”

“Fine, fine,” Max sighs in surrender.

So I have to know…how are you so cute?”

“Good genes. Mostly from my dad’s side.”

Max hands Rachel a muffin.

“What’s the story behind the blue feather?” Max asks.

“Sorry, it’s a secret. I might tell you one day.”

“Can I have another question then?”

“Nope!” Rachel gives Max a muffin.

“What was your first kiss like?” Rachel asks.

“I’ve never been kissed. A boy tried to once, in fourth grade, but I didn’t want to, and Chloe kicked his ass before he could.”

“Oh my god, Chloe _would_ do that. I’m glad she was there to defend your honor when I wasn’t.”

Max laughs. “Me too. ”

“I can’t believe you’ve never been kissed!”

“Why is that?”

“Um, have you looked in the mirror, Max Caulfield? I bet all the boys want a piece of that action.”

“Too bad I don’t like boys,” Max smirks, dropping a muffin in Rachel’s lap.

“Do you like me?” Max asks.

“Yes.”

Max hands her another muffin.

“Like really, really like me?”

“Yup.”

Max gives her another muffin.

“Can I kiss you?”

“God, yes.”

Max leans in for the kiss. Her first kiss. Rachel has kissed other girls before, whether it was drunk off her ass at parties, or Chloe when they briefly dated, or Kelly from the 7th grade fieldtrip to the aquarium. But kissing Max is different. It’s not two intoxicated, fleshy faces mashed together, or two scared, desperate teenagers trying to escape their fucked up lives. Kissing Max is like a field of flowers, a splash of warmth in winter. Her lips feel like home.

Max kisses Rachel again, and again, and again, Max’s hands tangled in her hair, pulling her closer. A buzzing fills Rachel’s body, spreading from her lips through her face, then down, down through her shoulders and belly.

Only when Rachel starts the lose the feeling in her fingers does Max break their kiss. They fall back onto the bed, both of them catching their breaths.

“Wowser,” Max gasps.

"I love the way you say that,” Rachel purrs, wrapping her body around Max’s arm.

Max sets the last muffin on Rachel’s head.

“Be my girlfriend?”

“I’d love to, Max.”

* * *

“Is there anything else I can get you, Maxie?” Rachel asks, putting the uneaten, now squished muffins away in her bag.

Max shivers from the bed. “I’m really cold.”

“Need another blanket?”

Max shakes her head, then points at Rachel. “You.”

Rachel feigns shock, clasping her hand over her mouth. “Me?”

“Yes, you.”

Rachel slips under the covers, Max laying her head on Rachel’s chest. Rachel twirls her fingers through that hair like apple blossoms, her head still buzzing with fuzzy sensations. She kisses the top of her girlfriend’s hair.

“Thanks for being here, Rachel.”

“Of course, Max. You can call me Rach, though.”

“‘But 'Rachel' is prettier. It’s like…walking through a forest.”

“A forest of muffins?”

“A forest of muffins.”

“Happy muffinversary, Max.”

“Happy muffinversary to you too, Rachel.”


End file.
